


Nothing Wasted

by itislacey



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (just my idea of what I want to happen okay), No Spoilers, Post Avengers Endgame, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), for the trailer or anything, happy endings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-18 20:56:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18126389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itislacey/pseuds/itislacey
Summary: It's been six months since the war with Thanos came to an end. After realizing just how short time really is, the Avengers get together every Sunday for breakfast, and spend the afternoons chatting about random things going on in their new lives.(Basically just a short one-shot of a Sunday brunch and Tony's inner thoughts about how the world is shaping up to be a little different that he's used to it being.)





	Nothing Wasted

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this little snippet :) And if you understand the last couple lines and know what it's referencing, kudos to you! I always knew I wanted that to be the ending line, so I just built a fic around that. Hope you enjoy!

Despite having sold Avengers Tower a few years ago, Tony Stark still found himself gravitating back towards the towering structure in the Upper East Side. At least from here, he could hear the sounds of the city. Whereas back at the compound upstate, the only thing you might hear upon walking outside is the birds in the nearby woods and the leaves rustling in the wind. There were no cars, no people.

There was no  _ life.  _

And that was something Tony needed to remind himself about when he spent too long upstate without hearing these things. 

Even back then - six months ago, to be exact - the only sounds you might have heard were the leaves rustling in the wind, or the remaining birds that stayed around. If you ventured into civilization, the only thing you would hear from people were grieving sniffles and panicked conversations. 

All of those were things Tony didn’t want to hear. 

All of those things made him keep thinking that this was his fault. If he would have tried  _ harder,  _ maybe been more focused on the threat as Thor had been-

_ “Boss,”  _ Friday, Tony’s AI spoke, interrupting his thoughts.  _ “You have an incoming call from Pepper Potts. Would you like me to answer?”  _

“Of course,” Tony replied, backing away from the edge of the roof, back towards the door that led up here. Not that he needed it to get down. He had flown up here in his suit after all - the very suit he assured Pepper he would never use again. But that was more for fighting purposes than it was leisure. He hadn’t used it to save or harm things since . . .  _ then.  _ This was only a joyride. In fact, most of the weapons features had been disabled these past few weeks. He only kept a few around,  _ just in case.  _

“Tony,” Pepper greeted. “I thought we agreed on an early dinner tonight?” 

Instinctively, he lifted his wrist to check his watch. “Damn,” he muttered, looking at his bare wrist. Once upon a time he  _ never  _ left the house without a watch on, but now, just the idea of keeping track of time was enough to make his heart speed up. 

He had come to the conclusion that there would never be enough. Or maybe now, there would be  _ too  _ much. He was retired. Unneeded. Didn’t  _ want  _ to be needed ever again. Now he was free to do whatever he wanted, when he wanted. Which, he had been able to do that before, but there was never the looming threat of people dying and the world ending. It wasn’t up to him to save everyone anymore. There are new people for that. 

“I’m sorry,” Tony said, shaking his head. “I didn’t realize the time had gone.” Which is all it seemed to do anymore. Everything was slipping away so fast, fading . . . “I can be there in half an hour.” 

“There is no rush,” Pepper assured. “You can . . . stay out for as long as you need.” She didn’t need to ask Tony where he was. If he headed out of the compound alone, it was always to go to the same place. 

“No,” Tony replied, voice quiet. Then, stronger, “No, I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Promise. I hope you’ll be wearing something . . . bold,” he settled on. 

Pepper laughed on the other end of the line. “Bold? If I’m wearing something like that, then I expect the rest of our evening to follow the same exact theme.” 

Just the idea of that had Tony grinning ear to ear. “Unfortunately, it’s Saturday. Otherwise I would be there in fifteen minutes.” Maybe less.

Saturday’s used to be the night for things such as being  _ bold.  _ However, it wasn’t the night that was the issue, but rather the following morning. 

Sunday’s were now strictly for - well, for a lack of a better term -  _ family time  _ (just the term makes Tony want to gag). It was completely optional amongst the entire Old Avengers team (which is now what they referred to themselves as), to come to the compound at ten in the morning for a big, late breakfast, and spend the following afternoon doing whatever the hell they pleased. More often than not they stood around and chatted, catching up about things they had done in the past week - which was never a whole lot, considering they were all off the payroll now. 

“I think I know just the outfit to wear for a bold-not bold-evening,” Pepper said. “I’ll see you when you get here.” She hung up without another word, leaving Tony to stare at the city in silence.

He soaked up the sound of angry drivers honking their horns, and loud people talking on their cell phones, before letting his Iron Man suit close around him and take off from the rooftop of the old Avengers Tower. 

That was enough sound to last him a few weeks. 

But for now, he had a hot date with his incredible fiancee. One that he wasn’t going to be even more late for. 

                                                                        ~~~

At ten a.m. sharp, the alarm clock next to Tony and Pepper’s bed went off with a loud shrill. 

Rolling over, Tony slung an arm around Pepper’s torso, pulling her closer to him. “Shut that off,” he mumbled into her hair. “I’m trying to sleep.” 

Pepper chuckled, trying to squirm out of his grip to reach for it. “I believe that sound means it’s time to wake up, actually.” She stretched her arm out towards the alarm, barely able to hit the off button. 

“I hope you hit snooze.”

“Just missed it,” Pepper retorted. “If we stay here any longer, we are going to be late for breakfast.” Everyone typically arrived within the thirty minutes after the clock struck ten. 

“That’s okay,” Tony assured. “We will just show up when the kid does, then.” His eyes remained close, trying to grasp on to any sort of leftover tiredness he could find. Quite the contrast compared to the past ten years, if you ask him. He went from never sleeping to never seeming to get enough. But perhaps that was all thanks to finally being able to just . . .  _ rest.  _ He had been trying to make up for ten years in six months. It was going to take more than that to ever feel completely energized ever again.

Pepper pushed off Tony’s arm with a snort. “You can’t chide Peter for being late every single Sunday and then be late yourself. What kind of example would that be setting?” 

Tony rolled onto his back, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling. “It hardly matters. My words of advice go in one ear and out the other. It’s like he’s deaf to my voice only.” 

“I believe that’s called ‘selective hearing’ and a lot of men tend to have that.” Pepper smirked at him, throwing the covers off of her and climbing out of the bed. 

“I’d hardly call him a man,” Tony muttered. Though he couldn’t disagree that Peter  _ had  _ matured quite a bit since when they first met all the way back in 2016. Three years and a global epidemic really did numbers on people.

“I’m going to tell him you said that over breakfast,” Pepper teased, searching for a pair of sweatpants to put on. 

With a sigh, Tony tossed the covers aside and rolled out of bed with a dramatic groan. “Why don’t we have a lunch instead at, say, about noon?” 

“Because people are already here and I’ve already put on clothes. You have five minutes until I send someone else up here to come get you.” She walked to the door, looking over her shoulder at Tony. “I’m thinking I’ll have Cap come sweep you off your feet and carry you down to the dining room.” 

“Oh, a real treat,” Tony fired back, rolling his eyes. “Nothing like a little humiliation to get the energy flowing. Maybe I’ll stay here for six more minutes.” 

“Ha, ha,” Pepper laughed sarcastically. “I know of one other person who could lift you up just as easily and I’m sure neither of you would like  _ that.”  _

Tony’s face paled at even the suggestion. “You’re evil. I’m sleeping on the couch tonight.” 

“More room for me,” Pepper said with a shrug. “You’re a cover hog anyway.” 

“I am not!” Tony called after her as she walked out the door, letting it click shut behind her. 

He sat for another minute before climbing up off the floor and searching for a tee shirt and pants to throw on. He grabbed from the closest pile he could reach, making a mental note to ether clean this up or have someone clean this up later. How Pepper wasn’t already on his ass about it was beyond him.

When he opened the door to his bedroom, the sound of voices floated down the hall. He could make out Rhodey and Steve, along with Pepper’s beautiful laugh. He walked down the hall and stepped into the kitchen/dining area, and was greeted by many voices.

“There he is!” Rhodey shouted. “We heard you might not make it down here in time. Pep was so just about to have Cap come - what was it? Sweep you off your feet?” 

“As charming and romantic as I’m sure that would be,” Natasha said, striding into the room, “I’m not sure any of us are wanting to see that so early in the day.” 

“I second that,” Wanda stated, coming in behind Nat. 

Cap rolled his eyes, arms crossed over his chest. “There are plenty of ways to carry a body, and bridal style is not the way I would have gone.”

“Personally I’m a fan of the helpless, over the shoulder,” Rhodey commented. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Tony said grumpily, heading straight for the coffee machine. “See, this is why we should have Sunday afternoon lunches, but Pepper refuses to entertain the idea.” He grabbed a mug from the cabinet overhead, sticking it beneath the machine and hitting start. He was so glad the coffee is prepared the night before, so all he has to do is push a single button in the morning to make it brew. 

“Better chug that quick,” Nat commented. “You’re running about has behind as the kid. He comes in here seeing you drinking that-”

“He won’t,” Tony remarked. “I’m not running  _ that  _ late. All of you are so dramatic.” He waved his hand dismissively. Even if he was running late - which he wasn’t - he would still down the coffee before the kid showed up and said something. He had agreed to stop drinking so much coffee as long as Peter never took up the habit. The kid was already high strung without it, and the only thing coffee would do for him is make it worse.

“Uh, huh,” Pepper began, only to be interrupted by a loud thud hitting the window, causing Steve to jump.

Tony eyed him, making sure he was okay before allowing his eyes to trail to the floor to ceiling window, which currently had a certain spider-kid clinging to it - on the  _ outside.  _ “Uh.” That was the only thing he could say upon looking at the kid.

Peter was currently sporting a rumbled up tee shirt, along with a pair of sweats. He had on one shoe, with the other one apparently missing, yet his foot still had a sock on it. And to complete the look, he had on his Spider-Man mask.

“That . . .” Rhodey trailed off. “That kid has some problems.” 

Natasha glanced at Rhodey out of the corner of her eye. “I think we all do at this point.” 

“This window is supposed to be open!” Peter shouted through the glass. “Come on, let me in!” 

Tony blinked hard, looking at Peter once more to make sure he was really seeing that. “What in the hell are you wearing?” he asked Peter. “Friday, unlock the window.” 

When the window unlatched, Peter slipped inside, allowing it to close behind him. He reached up and pulled off his mask, shaking his head to let his curls free up. He looked up at the silent group of Avengers, asking, “What?” 

“Wha- Kid, what?” Tony sputtered. “Why are you half dressed and look like you just woke up on a park bench?” After thinking about it for a second, he said, “Please don’t tell me you really did just wake up on a park bench.” For Peter, it wouldn’t be that farfetched. 

“No!” Peter laughed. “I was at home. Just running late. It takes me a minute to get up here, you know.” 

Pepper looked down at Peter’s feet. “But why are you missing a shoe?” 

“Huh?” Peter looked down, seeming to have just realized that his shoe was gone. “What!? Oh man, I  _ knew  _ it came off.”

Wanda laughed, covering her mouth after her outburst. It was almost like she was afraid to make such a sound. “Um, where did it fall off at?”

Peter looked up at her. “Probably my bedroom window. I think I stepped on the lace as I fired my webshooters and off it came.” 

“So your shoes were untied.” Tony frowned. “Do I need to start getting you shoes with the velcro straps? I’m sure I can find some that light up, too.” 

Peter shot him a look. “That’s hardly inconspicuous, Mr. Stark. I can’t do stealthy things with light up shoes.” 

“I hate to break it to you,” Steve interrupted, “but what you’re wearing now isn’t exactly what I’d call  _ inconspicuous.”  _

“Well I couldn’t exactly swing through buildings without my mask on,” Peter said like it was obvious. “Then people would know who Spider-Man is.” 

Natasha snorted. “Does Fury teach you new ones  _ anything?  _ You do realize if you go back out wearing that shirt, people will make a connection. That shirt is hardly one to blend in.” 

Looking down at his shirt, Peter saw that he was wearing his favorite red shirt. The front of it read: “AH! (in a square box) The Element of Surprise!” It was a periodic table joke that most people  _ should  _ get. If they had taken any science class, that is. “But this is my favorite shirt,” he pouted.

“Not anymore, it’s not,” Tony informed. “And now you’ll be catching a ride home with the one and only Happy Hogan. Unless you thought to bring the rest of your lovely, one of a kind suit?” 

“Why even bother asking when you already know the answer?” Peter grumbled, tossing his mask onto the nearby couch.

“Mmhm, Happy will take you home later this afternoon.” He turned to grab his mug of coffee when Peter made a loud noise in the back of his throat.

“What is that?” he asked, eyeing the green mug Tony was reaching for.

“Coffee,” Tony answered, leaning against the counter and bringing it to his lips. “Want some?” 

Peter eyes it suspiciously. “I know it’s not decaf.”

Tony arched a brow. “So, what? You’ve developed a new sense that alerts you to the presence of decaf coffee?” 

“Yeah, and it’s telling me that’s not decaf.” He also knew it wasn’t decaf, considering Tony was even drinking a mug of anything right now. He must have been running behind this morning, and counted on Peter being even more late than he was. “But I’ll pretend like I don’t know that.” He supposed he could let it slide.  _ This  _ time.

“How generous of you,” Tony scoffed, pushing off the counter and heading towards the dining room, where the smell of food wafted from. 

Everyone else followed suit, finding their usual seats at the long, glass table. There was never assigned seating, but everyone seemed to take the same chair every time. Tony always sat at the head of the table, with Pepper on his right and Peter to his left. 

Wanda sat next to Peter, and the chair next to hers always remained empty. Everyone knew it was for Vision - if he ever came back. 

Shuri and the others were working on his shell - or body, as some called it, seeing what could be repaired now that the Mind Stone was long gone. Though it had powered him at one point, he developed to the point where he didn’t even need it to be, well, Vision. However, the way the stone was taken from him, wasn’t ideal, and all it left behind was the empty shell of a man. No one knew for sure if they could work something out to get him back, but if they did, there would always be a space here waiting for him.

If Bruce were here - which it didn’t seem like he would be attending today - he would be seated right next to Pepper, followed by Natasha and Clint - if he were also here. And across from them would be Steve, Bucky, and Sam, only one of which decided to come today.

And of course, Thor, who would sit at the opposite end of the table from Tony, with a chair on either side of him for a guest of his choosing. Only a few times has he brought his brother, Loki, but it seemed the man didn't particularly enjoy hanging out with the rest of the Avengers. Which is understandable, given their long history with one another. 

Everyone and everything had a place. That’s how it was meant to be. 

Once everyone was seated, they began grabbing things from the center of the table, ready to gorge themselves in a large breakfast. Or was it lunch now? Or what Pepper calls  _ brunch?  _

“Going back to earlier,” Tony said, looking over at Peter. “What  _ does  _ Fury have you guys doing over there?” Not that he was too happy with Peter working with Fury, but the kid was gifted. And if Tony was out of the team, then he would definitely choose Peter to be their brains instead.

Peter shrugged, shoving a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth. “It’s Avengers information only.” 

Tony made a face of disgust. “I know that aunt of yours taught you a thing or two about manners.” 

Peter nodded, swallowing the eggs. “She did. But Avengers information is classified for those who-”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony said, cutting him off. “I’ve used that same speech dozens of times.” And every time he said it was a load of garbage. He knew Peter would tell him what they were up to, anyway. Just when they were alone in the lab. 

Pepper didn’t particularly like Tony being involved in any of the “New Avengers” things, but it’s not like he was going out there in his Iron Man suit, fighting alongside them. The only thing he did was listen to Peter’s rants and help him out with his suit. It was the least he could do for getting him involved in all of this,  _ and  _ it gave Tony something to do with all this time he suddenly found himself with.

“What are the rest of you doing all the time? Fishing and drinking beers by the river?” Peter asked, earning a loud laugh from Steve. 

“Something like that,” the man answered. “Though fishing isn’t really my scene.” 

Nat leaned in like she had some big secret to share. “He’s coaching baseball now.”

“What!?” Pepper exclaimed, nearly choking on her orange juice. 

“I agree with her,” Tony said. “What?” 

“It’s just the little league at the rec center. Nothing huge,” Steve informed, glaring at Natasha. 

“You’re really going all out with the America thing and living the dream, huh?” Peter asked. “All that’s missing is the white picket fence and a dog.” 

Steve rolled his eyes, a smile gracing his lips. “I think there’s more to that American Dream than you’re letting on.” 

“Eh, who needs a wife and kids when you can have a dog? Sounds like a dream to me!” Peter swiped the glass of milk off the table and chugged it all quickly.

“I wish I had this simple of a childhood,” Natasha remarked, leaning back in her seat. “I like the way he thinks.”

“Let’s see what you’re saying five years from now when that girlfriend of yours-”

“Girlfriend!?” Pepper shouted, interrupting Tony. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” 

Peter’s cheeks filled with red. “I don’t.” He shot Tony a look, daring him to say more. Of course, that was the wrong thing to do, as Tony never backs down from a challenge.

“Oh, yes! Didn’t you hear? Lovely girl. Michelle, I believe her name is. Right, Pete?” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Peter mumbled, stabbing at the sausage on his plate. 

“Awe, Petey has a girlfriend. That’s cute,” Nat said, smirking at the boy’s squrminess.  

Wanda placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Ignore them,” she said kindly. “Love is a one of a kind thing. Treasure what you get to have with her. You never know when it may disappear.” 

Peter nodded his head once, feeling bad for her. She loved Vision. Anyone could see that, and they could all see how deeply she wished he were here. 

Everyone got quiet then, whether it was from the mention of losing love or things disappearing, ti was probably different for everyone at the table. It had been six months since then, sure, but the pain of that war would last a lifetime. And lifetimes beyond that.

“Did I say Bucky was helping out with baseball, too?” Steve asked, changing the subject.

“I’m sure  _ that  _ will go over great,” Tony commented. “Is he going to wear his metal arm or not? I think either choice will freak some kids out.” 

“Nah, they think the arm is cool,” Steve answered, looking at Peter. He was the first person to ever be completely and utterly impressed with Bucky’s metal arm. Steve still remembers the following night when Bucky told him the “Spider-Thing” didn’t see it as something that could potentially kill him, but was rather in awe at it. It was the first glimpse of hope Steve had seen in his friend’s eye then. And he had thanked Peter for it not too long after he found out who was under the mask. 

“The youth is our future,” Pepper said. “So far, they’re doing good.” 

Tony had no doubt about that. If the kid next to him was an example of what the future could be, then he would rest easily. 

Leaning back in his chair, he looked at the people who had become more than just friends - they were his family. And six months ago, before they ended everything for good, Tony never thought he would get to see these faces again. He thought his life had been wasted, knowing the things he had created to preserve it did nothing to save himself. But the truth is, some jobs are just too big for one person. You can have all the smarts in the world, and know how to end world hunger or give world peace, but none of that can be carried out unless you have people by your side, willing to do the same things as you. People to support you, and grab your hand when you fall down and don’t think you can get back up. 

And knowing that this - his  _ family -  _ could finally sit here and be at peace because of the part he played in ending that war . . . well, he wouldn’t say his life was wasted.

Not one bit. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
